Gstaad, Switzerland, July 12, 2014 – Switzerland-born Phil Dalhausser and his partner Sean Rosenthal will be out to win their second gold medals of the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour when the Gstaad Grand Slam matches take place on Sunday.
Dalhausser and Rosenthal won their first golds of the season at the most recent World Tour Grand Slam, in Stavanger, but will need to overcome Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt, who will be out to claim their first golds of 2014.
In the women’s final it is an all-German affair when Karla Borger and Britta Buthe take on compatriots Ilka Semmler and Katrin Holtwick.
Gstaad set for all-German final
The Gstaad Grand Slam is set for an all-German gold medal match on Sunday after Semmler and Holtwick and Borger and Buthe won their semifinals.
Borger and Buthe started off with a 2-1 (21-18, 21-23, 15-11) win over Berlin Grand Slam gold medallists Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic and then Semmler and Holtwick needed only two sets to beat Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta and Maria Antonelli 2-0 (22-20, 27-25).
It is the first time there has been an all-German women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour final and it presents both teams with the chance to win their first ever Grand Slam gold medals.
“Tomorrow we are opponents, but we are good friends and we have had a lot of training camps together,” Holtwick said.
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Alison and Bruno out to deny Dalhausser and Rosenthal
Brazilians Alison and Bruno set up a Gstaad Grand Slam gold medal match against Dalhausser and Rosenthal after both teams won their semifinals.
Americans Dalhausser and Rosenthal were first into the final when they defeated compatriots Nick Lucena and Ryan Doherty 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 15-13) before Alison and Bruno needed on two sets to defeat Germany’s Jonathan Erdmann and Kay Matysik 2-0 (21-15, 21-19).
The gold medal match sets up the enticing prospect of a clash between Alison and Dalhausser, two of the most powerful players at the net, while Bruno and Rosenthal have proven themselves to be among the most nimble and agile of defensive players on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
“We lost our first match, but since then decided not to lose our focus and we played really well just now,” Bruno said. “I think it is going to be a great match tomorrow.”
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The double-gender US$800,000 FIVB Gstaad Grand Slam runs from Wednesday, July 9 until Sunday July 13 when the men’s and women’s medal matches take place. It is the ninth event and the fifth Grand Slam on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar that features nine Grand Slams and 11 Open tournaments.
The 2014 World Tour began at the Fuzhou Open in China in April and concludes at the Durban Open in South Africa in December. Next up on the World Tour calendar is the Transavia Hague Grand Slam which runs from July 15-20.